Robusta Nam Ban — Salt Ferment 72

Why salt

Fermentation is the process in which yeasts and bacteria break down the sugars in the cherry's flesh and juice. The longer it runs, the more complex the aromas, but go too far and it turns sour or muddy. As with pickles and miso, salt slows microbes down. It is a way of holding a long fermentation where you want it.

Bui is a producer who has made salt fermentation the backbone of how he processes Robusta. This lot combines that salt fermentation with a 72-hour anaerobic fermentation and returned cherry juice. We are confirming the salt ratio now.

Mosto and anaerobic fermentation

Mosto is the word for pressed grape juice in winemaking. In coffee it names a method in which juice pressed from the cherries is returned to the beans to ferment (more in Mosto Natural).

Anaerobic fermentation takes place in a sealed tank with the oxygen shut out. Keeping the air away makes the fermentation easier to control (more in Anaerobic). Here it runs for 72 hours.

In the cup

In the producer's description: tropical fruit, red plum and a wine-like acidity. Robusta is usually talked about for its bitterness and heavy body; this lot sets out to draw fruit aromas from it.

The aim is to make a distinctive cup in real quantities rather than as a small experiment.

Nam Ban

Nam Ban is a town in Lam Ha district, Lam Dong province, a little over ten kilometers west of the highland city of Da Lat. The area is covered in red soil weathered from basalt, and most farms sit at roughly 800 to 1,000 m. It is a cool plateau with a wide gap between day and night temperatures. Bui's farm is a little higher, at 1,080 m.

Vietnam is the world's largest Robusta producer, and Lam Dong is one of its centers. In a region long known for volume, competitions judged on quality have started in recent years, and some producers are exploring what Robusta can taste like. Bui is one of them.

The producer, Bui Canh

Bui Canh is a former barista. He started in 2021 with a small roastery and now has his own farm and processing site in Nam Ban. As well as his own fields, he works with more than 20 neighboring farming households, buys their fully ripe cherries and finishes them at his own processing site. Everything from sorting the cherries to processing and quality checks is done in one place, under Bui.

Fermentation with salt is a method Bui has put real work into. For another lot, combining Natural Anaerobic with salt, he published a process of 36 hours of fermentation with 2% salt, and it placed Top 3 in the Robusta category of Vietnam Amazing Cup 2026 (85.88 points).

About this lot

The price will be listed once confirmed. We will also add the results of our own cupping to this page as soon as we have them.